View source for Geographical usage of television

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The '''geographical usage of television''' varies around the world with a number of different transmission standards in use and differing approaches by government in relation to ownership and programme content.

==African networks and stations==
{{seealso|List of television stations in Africa}}

Despite being the most economically advanced country on the continent, [[South Africa]] did not introduce TV until 1976, owing to opposition from the [[apartheid]] regime. [[Nigeria]] was one of the first countries in [[Africa]] to introduce television, in 1959, followed by [[Zimbabwe]] (then [[Rhodesia]]) in 1961, while [[Zanzibar]] was the first in Africa to introduce colour television, in 1973. ([[Tanzania]] itself did not introduce television until 1994).
The main satellite TV providers are the South African Multichoice DStv service, and the predominantly [[French language]] Canal Horizons, owned by [[France]]'s [[Canal Plus]].

==Asian networks and stations==
In [[Asia]], television has traditionally been state-controlled, although the number of private stations is increasing, as is competition from [[satellite television|satellite]] and [[cable television]]. [[Japan]]'s [[NHK]] is a non-commercial network similar to the [[BBC]], funded by a [[television license]] fee, and has more [[editorial independence]] over news and current affairs than broadcasters like [[India]]'s state-run [[Doordarshan]] or [[People's Republic of China|China's]] [[China Central Television]] (CCTV). In [[Malaysia]], television was dominated by [[Radio Televisyen Malaysia]] (RTM), a government-owned agency, from 1963 until 1984. From 1984, however, private television stations started emerging, and as of March 2009, there are 4 private stations and 2 government-owned ones in the country. [[Free-to-air]] television in [[Singapore]] is currently monopolised by [[MediaCorp]], with 8 channels broadcast there. 

From 2000 onwards, India also encouraged new private stations. [[Star TV]], which is based in [[Hong Kong]], has expanded to other areas in Asia recently. The number of private broadcasters are indeed increasing in some countries (2004) for example: [[Indonesia]]'s 10 private [[Television network#Indonesia|national stations]] compared to only 1 in 1989.

Satellite and cable television is relatively new in Asia, but is a growing industry.  

===Middle East networks and stations===
Similarly in the [[Middle East]], television has been heavily state-controlled, with considerable censorship of both news coverage and entertainment, particularly that imported from the West. This control of the medium has been eroded by the increasing availability of satellite TV, and the number of satellite channels in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] is second only to the number of satellite channels in [[English language|English]], the best known of which being the [[Qatar]]-based news service [[Al Jazeera]]. 

==Australasian networks and stations==
===Australian networks and stations===
{{main|Television in Australia}}
Australian television began in 1956, just in time for the [[1956 Summer Olympics|Melbourne Olympics]]. Australia has three nationwide metropolitan commercial networks ([[Seven Network|Seven]], [[Nine Network|Nine]] and [[Network Ten|Ten]]) as well as the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), a government owned, commercial free network; and [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] (Special Broadcasting Service) a commercial-supported, multi-lingual, government-owned station.  The [http://www.aba.gov.au/ Australian Broadcasting Authority] has also issued licenses to community groups to establish "community television stations" in most capital cities on the UHF Ch 31 frequency ([[Channel 31]]). In regional and rural areas, numerous commercial stations are affiliated with one of the three metropolitan networks, and carry programming generally indistinguishable from their city cousins.

===New Zealand networks and stations===
{{main|Television in New Zealand}}
Through a [[Crown Entity]] named [[Television New Zealand]] (TVNZ), the New Zealand government owns two television networks [[TV ONE]] and [[TV2 (New Zealand)|TV2]]. Although both networks are required to screen advertisements to pay for their operation, the One network receives additional funding to provide local content under a government broadcasting charter. A purely commercial network, [[TV3 (New Zealand)|TV3]] is owned by [[CanWest]], a Canadian media company, and also operate a music channel, [[C4 (TV channel)|C4]].  Another network called [[Prime Television New Zealand|Prime Television]] is a subsidiary of [[pay television]] company, [[SKY Network Television]], and carries programming from a number of sources including Austraslia's [[Nine Network]]. [[SKY Network Television]] operates a [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] terrestrial and digital satellite TV service. The New Zealand government also funds the controversial [[Māori Television Service]] with the aim of putting Māori language and culture on New Zealand television screens. This service is delivered via Sky's UHF and satellite services. Additionally there are a range of low-power UHF regional television channels operating independently throughout the country.

==European networks and stations==
===National European networks===
In much of Europe, television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently.

In most countries, the public broadcasters were the only television services available until the 1980s. These were usually funded by the state or a television license, but many countries have eventually adopted advertising in the public channels.

The United Kingdom was an early adopter of private television, launching the [[ITV]] network in 1955. Italy followed in the 1970s. Most countries got commercial broadcasters in the 1980s and 1990s, either by allowing private broadcasters to broadcast terrestrially or from broadcasters located in other countries. Some countries made room for private television by closing down or selling one of the state channels.

Most countries had around two-six national broadcasters in the days of analogue television. Digital television has however allowed the number of terrestrial channels to multiply. Cable and satellite are also contributing to the increased number of channels, with hundreds of channels available to those willing to pay for it.

Every country has a public broadcaster and about one-four dominating commercial broadcasters (excluding smaller countries where local commercials broadcasters haven't been profitable), which are listed in the table below.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan=2|Country
!colspan=2|Leading broadcasters
|-
!Public
!Private
|-
|{{flagcountry|Albania}}
|[[Radio Televizioni Shqiptar|RTSh]]
|[[Top Channel]], [[Klan TV|Klan]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Austria}}
|[[ORF]]
|[[ATV (Austria)|ATV]], [[Puls 4]], [[Austria 9 TV]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Belarus}}
|[[National State Teleradiocompany|BRTC]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Belgium}}
|[[VRT]], [[RTBF]]
|[[SBS Broadcasting|SBS]], [[Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij|VMMa]], [[RTL TVI]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
|[[Radiotelevision of Bosnia-Herzegovina|BHRT]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}
|[[Bulgarian national television|BNT]]
|[[BTV (Bulgaria)|bTV]], [[Nova Television]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Croatia}}
|[[Croatian Radiotelevision|HRT]]
|[[RTL Televizija|RTL]], [[Nova TV]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Czech Republic}}
|[[Ceská televize|CT]]
|[[TV Nova]], [[TV Prima]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Denmark}}
|[[Danmarks Radio|DR]], [[TV2 (Denmark)|TV2]]
|[[Modern Times Group|MTG]], [[SBS Broadcasting Group|SBS]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Estonia}}
|[[Eesti Televisioon|ETV]]
|[[Kanal 2]], [[TV3 (Estonia)|TV3]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Finland}}
|[[YLE]]
|[[MTV3]], [[Nelonen]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|[[France Télévisions]]
|[[TF1]]<!--31.5/2005--->, [[Métropole 6|M6]]<!--12.6/2005--->
|-
|{{flagcountry|Germany}}
|[[ARD (broadcaster)|ARD]], [[ZDF]]
|[[RTL Group|RTL]]<!---+25%/2004--->, [[ProSiebenSat.1 Media|ProSiebenSat.1]]<!---+17%/2004--->
|-
|{{flagcountry|Greece}}
|[[Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi|ERT]]
|[[ANT1]], [[Mega Channel|Mega]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Hungary}}
|[[Magyar Televízió|MT]]
|[[TV2 (Hungary)|TV2]], [[RTL Klub]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Iceland}}
|[[Sjónvarpið]]
|[[Stöð 2]]
|-
|{{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}}
|[[Radio Telefís Éireann|RTÉ]]
|[[TV3 Ireland|TV3]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Italy}}
|[[RAI]]
|[[Mediaset]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Kosovo}}
|[[Radio Television of Kosovo|RTK]]
|[[RTV21]], [[Kohavision|KTV]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Latvia}}
|[[Latvijas Televizija|LTV]]
|[[Latvijas Neatkariga Televizija|LNT]], [[TV3 Latvia|TV3]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Lithuania}}
|[[Lithuanian National Radio and Television|LRT]]
|[[LNK (television station)|LNK]], [[TV3 Lithuania|TV3]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Luxembourg}}
|
|[[RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Macedonia}}
|[[Macedonian Radio-Television|MRT]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Malta}}
|[[Public Broadcasting Services|PBS]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Moldova}}
|[[TeleRadio-Moldova|TRM]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Montenegro}}
|[[RTCG|TVCG]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
|[[Netherlands Public Broadcasting|NPO]]
|[[RTL Nederland]], [[SBS Broadcasting Group|SBS]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Norway}}
|[[Norsk rikskringkasting|NRK]]
|[[TV2 (Norway)|TV2]], [[Modern Times Group|MTG]], [[SBS Broadcasting Group|SBS]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Poland}}
|[[Telewizja Polska|TVP]]
|[[TVN (Poland)|TVN]], [[Polsat]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Portugal}}
|[[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal|RTP]]
|[[SIC (Portugal)|SIC]], [[TVI (Portugal)|TVI]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Romania}}
|[[Televiziunea Romana|TVR]]
|[[Pro TV]], [[Antena 1 (Romania)|Antena 1]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Russia}}
|[[Channel One (Russia)|Channel One]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Serbia}}
|[[Radio Television of Serbia|RTS]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Slovakia}}
|[[Slovenská televízia|STV]]
|[[Markíza]]<!---33.2%/2005-->, [[Joj TV]]<!---12.2%/2005--->
|-
|{{flagcountry|Slovenia}}
|[[Radio Televizija Slovenija|RTV Slovenija]]
|[[POP TV|POP]], [[kanal A|A]], [[info tv|info]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Spain}}
|[[Televisión Española|TVE]], [[FORTA]]
|[[Telecinco]], [[Antena 3 (Spain)|Antena 3]], [[Cuatro (channel)|Cuatro]], [[La Sexta]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Sweden}}
|[[Sveriges Television|SVT]]
|[[TV4 AB|TV4]], [[Modern Times Group|MTG]], [[SBS Broadcasting Group|SBS]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
|[[Télévision Suisse Romande|TSR]], [[Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua Italiana|TSI]], [[Schweizer Fernsehen|SF]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Turkey}}
|[[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]]
|
|-
|{{flagcountry|Ukraine}}
|[[National Television Company of Ukraine|UT-1]]
|[[1+1]], [[Inter (TV channel)|Inter]]
|-
|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
|[[BBC]]
|[[ITV]], [[Channel 4]], [[Five (TV)|Five]], [[British Sky Broadcasting|Sky]]
|}

The largest commercial European broadcaster is the Luxembourg-based [[RTL Group]]. Other media groups controlling European television broadcasters are [[ProSiebenSat.1 Media]], [[News Corporation]], [[Central European Media Enterprises]] and [[Modern Times Group]].

===Europe-wide networks===
As Europe is a linguistical and culturally varied continent, the dominating broadcasters are either national or are operating in countries that share a language. Pan-European broadcasters exist, but they tend to adapt their content for different markets by providing different audio streams or completely separate channels with the same name. Channels available to all of Europe include [[Euronews]] and [[Eurosport]].

==Latin American networks and stations==
Television has reached a great expansion in all the Latin American scope. Currently, there exist more than 1,500 television stations in all Latin America, according to the number of apparatuses by homes (more than 60 million), of more than two hundred million people. Because of the financial and political troubles that occurred between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s, television networks in some countries of this region had a development more irregular than the North American and European networks. In countries like [[Mexico]] or [[Brazil]], one or two networks claim almost all the audience. In other countries like [[Colombia]] or [[Chile]], television broadcasting has historically been public-broadcast dominated until the 1990s. In countries like [[Nicaragua]] or [[Peru]], television had a troubled history. The largest commercial television groups are Mexico-based [[Televisa]], Brazil-based Globo and Canada-based Canwest Latin American Group.
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}

==North American networks and stations==
===Canadian networks and stations===
{{main|Television in Canada}}
In [[Canada]], there are a number of national networks, including three main networks for [[English Canada]]. One, [[CBC Television]], is owned by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], a government-funded [[Crown corporation]].  The other two, [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] and [[Global Television Network|Global]], are privately run.  The private networks usually use most of their primetime hours to rebroadcast U.S. shows, while the CBC airs more Canadian programming. Private [[television system|systems]] — essentially mini-networks whose stations have a somewhat enhanced local focus and which do not reach all of Canada — include [[Citytv]], [[E! (Canada)|E!]] and [[A-Channel]].

In [[French Canada]], particularly [[Quebec]], the main networks are the CBC-owned ''[[Télévision de Radio-Canada]]'', and private networks [[TVA (television network)|TVA]] and [[TQS]]. These networks tend to air substantially more domestic programming in primetime than their English counterparts. There are also the [[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]], multiethnic broadcaster [[Omni Television]], provincial educational networks, and a limited number of niche-interest or independent stations. Radio-Canada broadcasts across Canada, while TVA and TQS only broadcast terrestrial signals in Quebec and APTN only broadcasts terrestrially in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|territories]]. TVA and APTN, however, are available on cable in all Canadian markets. TQS does not have national cable carriage rights, although it is available in some markets outside of Quebec with larger francophone communities.

Additional [[premium television]] or [[specialty channel]]s are also available in both languages through [[cable television|cable]] and [[satellite television]]. Notable examples include [[CBC Newsworld]], [[The Sports Network|TSN]], [[MuchMusic]], [[Showcase Television|Showcase]], and [[The Movie Network]].

The [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) requires all television services in Canada to broadcast a minimum percentage of [[Canadian content]], both during the day and during primetime.

===United States networks and stations===
{{main|Television in the United States}}
In the U.S., the three traditional commercial [[television network]]s ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], and [[NBC]]) provide [[prime-time]] programs for their [[affiliate]] stations to air from 8pm&ndash;11pm Monday-Saturday and 7pm&ndash;11pm on Sunday. (7pm to 10pm, 6pm to 10pm respectively in the Central and Mountain time zones).  Most stations procure other programming, often syndicated, off [[prime time]]. The [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX Network]] does not provide programming for the last hour of prime time; as a result, many FOX affiliates air a local news program at that time.  Three newer broadcasting networks, [[The CW Television Network|The CW]], [[ION Television]], and [[MyNetworkTV]] also do not provide the same amount of network programming as so-called traditional networks. [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]] operates the largest network of local television stations, reaching about 24% of U.S. households. [[Trinity Broadcast Network]], or TBN, runs the world's largest Christian television network, and owns twenty-three U.S. full-power television stations as well as 252 low-power stations serving smaller cities and rural areas. [[PBS]] is the U.S.'s public broadcaster.

Over the past thirty years, [[cable television|cable]] and [[satellite television]] have come to provide most homes with dozens or even hundreds of television services. [[Cable television]] was originally created to allow residents of weak-signal areas to benefit from a large, well-located common antenna. In the 1970s, Premium Services such as [[HBO]], [[Showtime]], and [[The Movie Channel]] used [[communication satellite|satellites]] to deliver movies to cable head-ends, who would re-distribute it to customers for an added charge. During the same period, it has seen the emergence of numerous specialty cable networks, such as [[CBN]] (now ABC Family), [[CNN]], [[ESPN]] (sports), [[Lifetime Television|Lifetime]] (women's programming), [[The Learning Channel]], [[MTV]], [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] (children's shows), [[VH-1]], [[The Weather Channel (United States)|The Weather Channel]], and others. The advent of digital compression technology in the 1990s, along with the rapidly growing popularity of [[direct-to-home]] satellite television allowed for content providers to pack more channels into a single satellite slot, and a number of new networks, especially those fulfilling certain niches, aimed at digital cable and satellite systems were established.

==See also==

[[category:Recreation]]
[[Category:Television]]